Press Releases
February 7, 2000 |
Contact: Cathy
Trask |
First Round of Presenting Companies Selected for CED's Venture 2000
Companies Seek Funding at Southeast's Premier Venture Capital Conference
February 7, 2000, Research Triangle Park, N.C. - Seven companies seeking venture capital have been selected to present at the Council for Entrepreneurial Development's (CED) 17th Annual Venture 2000, the Southeast's premier venture capital conference. The conference will be held May 10 - 11, 2000 at the Friday Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A committee of professional venture capitalists from throughout the Southeast selects presenters that reflect the diversity of North Carolina's entrepreneurial sector. Past presenters have spanned the fields of health care services, computer software and hardware, medical devices, telecommunications, biotechnology, financial services, pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, wireless communications and the Internet.
The first round of companies selected to present at Venture 2000 are:
- Alerts.com makes software that allows users to specify pertinent information on the Internet, like changes in a stock price, and sends them an email as up-to-the-minute information appears online.
- AuctionRover.com allows buyers to search for items on multiple auction sites, sellers to host images and counters, and provides informational and entertainment content. AuctionRover.com now powers leading Web portals such as Go2Net.
- Cogent Neuroscience, Inc. has a novel functional genomics platform for the discovery of new and effective treatments for brain diseases.
- Extensibility, Inc. provides XML schema development, conversion and management products.
- InterAdNet, Inc. plans, places and tracks the results of online advertising for a number of blue chip clients and advertising agencies.
- NeoButler, Inc. provides a personalized Internet navigation service that works around the clock on the user's behalf to deliver relevant content based on the user's personal interests, anticipating their needs and automating routine tasks.
- ViOS, Inc. develops software that delivers the Internet to users as a three-dimensional landscape.
There will be two more rounds of selection for Venture 2000 presenters. The final application deadline is February 25. Selection is highly competitive and companies are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible.
Last year, Venture '99 drew a crowd of more than 800 people, including representatives of venture capital funds, private investors, corporations, banks, leasing companies and investment banking firms from across the United States and Canada.
"Nationally recognized as the Southeast's premier venture financing conference, Venture 2000 continues a 17-year tradition of showcasing the hottest investment opportunities and new technologies to venture capitalists and financiers from throughout the United States," said Monica Doss, CED's executive director. "Venture capital invested in the Triangle tripled in 1999 to more than $750 million and presenters from Venture '98 and Venture '99 alone raised $350 million of that total."
Companies raising seed and first rounds will present at the conference's Early Stage session on the afternoon of May 10. Companies raising expansion rounds will present at the conference's Main Session on May 11.
In addition to company presentations, the conference features presenting company exhibits and a keynote speaker. Conference attendees will also have many informal networking opportunities, including a cocktail reception on May 10, small group dinners and an invitation-only golf tournament for investors.
Venture 2000 is presented by CED, with support from the North Carolina Department of Commerce, National Venture Capital Association, North Carolina Venture Capital Association and UNC-CH's Kenan-Flagler Business School. The application to present is available on the CED web site at http://www.cednc.org/venture/2000.
About CED
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located at the CED Entrepreneurship Center in Research Triangle Park, NC, was formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs. CED sponsors annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED also offers the FastTrac entrepreneurial training program, youth programs and other outreach programs.
CED is a private, non-profit organization and is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,000 members representing 1000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms.